The morning signaled victory, and it’s about time. I went to bed at the wee hours of dawn lastnightthismorning, frustrated, feeling sick and not looking forward to today. But as I was nudged from sleep by my phone’s alarm at 8, lying in a twisted fetal pose, bleary and moaning, suddenly the lightening bolts struck and I knew how I wanted to finish this painting. It’s an overdue birthday present for a friend that I had to complete before I leave town this weekend, and I was starting to really sweat it. Phone calls from the person who commissioned it had included first casual, and then quite direct queries about whether I was going to come through on this thing or not. Yeah, I needed a kick in the pants because frankly, I hated this thing for a while.
It had sat there — looking boring and fluffy, just an almost finished sky, mountains and the badly proportioned skeleton drawing of a person without any real story, meaning or answer to the question of what the hell this thing was becoming — for weeks, while my friend patiently waited. His girlfriend’s birthday came and went. I flew to Italy and Canada and cavorted, while the canvas sat glumly on the kitchen table.
Today the labor pains hit and out came the baby. And I love it! So awesome when hatred and self-doubt turns to a beautiful thing. Can’t wait to give it away.